The End Of Cardiff
by Angelwood
Summary: Something strange is happening in Cardiff and Torchwood doesn't have the answers but someone is coming to give them the answers. Set in the future of Torchwood, the year 2033. Carried on from "Like Father, Like Son." Hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Strange things are happening in Cardiff, things that the Torchwood team can't explain but some one is about to come to the team who has the answers that they need. How will each of the team members react to the appearance of someone from their past and what secrets does that person hold?

The End Of Cardiff. 

"Some things never change."

The morning was cold, the kind of morning where you couldn't see the sun, blocked by the steady stream of grey clouds, clouds passing over each other, obstructing the suns every chance of spreading it's rays, covering the suns body like a cheap grey suit. The suns heat couldn't be felt either, the air around him biting everything it touched like the children's tale of "Jack Frost". As he breathed out, an almost perfect cloud escaped his mouth, the warmth of his breath mixing with the cold of the air around him. He exhaled again, staring out across the mass of the unnaturally calm sea in front of him. As he turned away from the familiar sight of the sea, pulling his collar up protecting all the skin he could from the biting chill and faced a less familiar sight.

He stared at the new buildings that filled the skyline of the bay, the high rise buildings reaching to the sky but never making it to the clouds, never coming close. The new modern buildings replacing the old run down shops and buildings that stood there before, standing like metal and brick monsters towering over the bay, trying to intimidate the sea but failing. Amongst all this new, unfamiliar skyline, amongst all that was modern, of this time, there was still something he recognised, something that told him he was in the right place, something of old and something that would never change and it made him smile.

"Typical Jack," he half chuckled to himself.

Amongst all the sounds of the yet early morning, the business people starting their journeys, hoping they get to work on time, buses starting their endless circles of their routes, the delivery trucks delivering their precious goods for the consumption of the masses, there was a continuous bleeping sound. A distress call, a call he was meant to answer, a call he knew was coming. He observed the black SUV roar into the plaza, coming to a stop briefly, the engine humming quietly as the doors opened and it's occupants vacated the SUV, it then tearing off. He watched as the unmistakeable figure of Captain Jack Harkness was followed by a younger male and female,walking over to the water tower, stepping onto the path and then disappearing like ghosts.

"Some things never change," he smiled, that familiar grin creeping across his face.

* * *

"Kato! If you want to do this for me, do it otherwise stop watching over my shoulder. Any closer and you will be sat on my lap," Arion tells him, throwing him an annoyed sideways glance.

"Thanks for that gross thought Arion. Your like my little sister," Kato remarks, moving away from her desk and back over to his.

"Hey! Less of the little. I'm only two months younger than you are," she replies, annoyance rising in her voice.

"Are you two arguing again?" Ianto asks them both, knowing the answer already, they always did.

They had been so busy arguing that they hadn't heard Ianto come up behind them, hands holding a tray loaded with steaming cups of coffee and tea as Ianto was now not the only person in the hub that drank tea. He placed the tray of seven cups down at the end of Arion's desk, handing her and Kato their cups, placing the other cups on the right workstations.

"Dad! Will you tell Kato. He's doing that annoying looking over my shoulder thing again," she tells Ianto as he rests his hand on her shoulder, the way a father did with his grown daughter, affectionately.

"You should know that she doesn't like it by now Kato," Ianto tells him, gently and only just shaking his head at Kato.

"I know uncle Ianto but sometimes I just can't help myself," Kato tries to explain but he can see by Arion's face that that wasn't an excuse.

"And that is why you don't work with family," Jack almost laughed as he joined the three, Ianto handing him his usual industrial strength coffee which only Ianto could make.

"You know you wouldn't have it any other way Jack," Gwen tells them walking past, her nose deep in a handful of files that she had retrieved from the archives, walking over to her desk and sitting down, briefly looking down to make sure it was her cup she was reaching for, Jack smiling as what Gwen had said was right.

Just as the team were about to settle down to their usual morning coffee break, the rift alert sounded, lights flashing throughout the hub, sirens screaming their alert, indicating that the rift had became active. Over the last week, it become a regular occurrence. Arion wheeled herself over to her to her desk and accessed the computer, tapping at the keypad.

"What is it Arion?" Jack asked her coming to her side, looking over her shoulder.

"Massive energy drainage from sector B12 through B15 and F4. The rift seems to be draining the energy from the local electricity supply," Arion informs him bring up charts.

"There are reports of loss of electricity supplies in those sectors, a report also coming in from two sub stations and the main electricity board reporting mass surges on their stocks and supplies," Kato announced bringing up various charts and reports up on the glass screen, sliding them around as they came in.

"Where is the electricity going to?" Jack asked, knowing full well that he knew the answer already.

"The rift seems to be some how absorbing it," Arion replied, her eyes firmly fixed on the screen in front of her.

"This doesn't make any sense," Kato announced with concern in his voice.

"What is it?" Ianto asks, starting to share his concern knowing that it had to be something unusual to concern Kato.

"The energy or electricity that is being absorbed is being drained by the rift but it isn't going to any particular destination. I have done a scan and there are no alien vessels in orbit or for that matter, anywhere near," Kato replied working frantically running scan after scan.

"It has to be going somewhere?" Jack stated but knowing the rift better than most, also knowing that the rift could be unpredictable.

"Seriously uncle Jack, it isn't going anywhere," Kato replied becoming more and more confused.

Just then, the internal sensors of the hub were triggered. Lights flashed, sirens screamed throughout the hub, adding to the already panic that had the team confused and on edge.

"What now?" John shouted, almost struggling to be heard over the sirens.

Arion rips open the top draw of her desk, fumbling around for a second and then retrieving something and slamming the draw shut again. She leaves her desk and makes for the 3D screen, the hubs newest human technology. Sliding on the gloves that she retrieved from her draw, she begins to bring up the hubs defences, trying to figure out what the treat was.

"Well?............ Arion!" Jack shouted, Arion oblivious to his shouting, more concerned about what was threatening their defences.

"Arion!" Ianto shouted as he watched Arion almost in a trance, sliding commands, stats and updates across the 3D screen, trying to keep the defences online as one by one, they were being hacked and taken down. Defence after defence, firewall after firewall.

"Unknown intruder advancing through levels 4, 5 and 6. Entry into main hub section in 30 seconds. Firewalls and defences failing," came a voice over the hubs speaker system but the words coming from Arion's mouth.

"Who or what is the intruder Arion?" Gwen asks, her voice higher in volume but not at shouting point, knowing shouting at Arion at this point was no use.

"Intruder is of unknown time and origin. Sensors can not verify if the Intruder is of human or alien origin. Entry to main hub section in 25 seconds. Firewalls and defences are almost all destroyed," Arion informs the team as Owen and Tosh enter the main hub area from the rear entrance.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Owen demands to know, making his way with Toshiko to the workstation area.

"The rift detector is telling us that energy is being drained from sectors B12 through B15 and F4 by the rift and it's going nowhere," Kato starts to explain.

"Intruder's entry to main hub section in 20 seconds," Arion warns through the hub's coms but the words still coming from her mouth.

"And to top it all off, we have an intruder burning through our firewalls and defences," Ianto continues to inform Owen.

"Armoury?" Gwen asks already knowing the answer as the armoury keys hurtle towards her.

Taking them and being accompanied by Ianto and Owen, Gwen opens the armoury, removing enough weapons for everyone but Jack and Arion. Handing them back to Owen and Ianto, they leave, Gwen stopping to lock the armoury again before joining the rest of the team.

"Intruder's entry to the main hub section in 15 seconds. 3 firewalls remaining, unable to hold them," Arion announces through the coms.

"Kato, you stay and cover Arion on the work station floor. The rest of you, attack position Alpha 6," Jack ordered as Kato moved away from his desk and into a cover position, his back almost against Arions.

Jack chosen Kato to provide cover for Arion as apart from himself, Kato was the best shot in the team, having a deathly accurate aim and 99% kill rate. The rest of the team spread out throughout the main hub section, making sure they covered every angle and corner of the main hub as they didn't yet know where the intruder would be entering.

"Entry in 5......4......3......2.......ENTRY!" Arion shouted and as she did, the team where left with no doubt as to where the intruder was entering.

The entire main hub section was filled with the most blinding orange, yellow and white light, everyone but Arion having to look away from the blinding light. Every corner of the hub was filled with light, no corner dark, no shadows, the light was so bright and blinding. Once the team had gotten over the initial blinding of the light, they raised their weapons, all except Toshiko, who lowered her weapon right down.

"Tosh! What are you doing? Raise your weapon," Owen instructed her, unbelieving of the fact that she had lowered her weapon knowing an intruder was about to enter the hub.

"There's no need. He has arrived," Toshiko mystically replied to Owen's confusion.

"Who's arrived Tosh?" he asks not seeing that the rest of the team except Kato were slowly lowering their weapons.

"Look!" she tells him, pointing to the dark figure that was now moving through the blinding light of the rift portal and into the main hub.

The figure looked male, standing about 6ft tall, broad, weapons loaded on it's back and it's waist. It had the stature of an old fashioned greek god. From it's hand hung a long, beautifully crafted sword. It's features becoming more clear as the light began to dim around the intruder. It was a man.

"He has arrived home," Toshiko replies as the portal closes behind the intruder.


	2. Chapter 2

The section in bold italic is Arion's thoughts. I wanted them to stand out more than the rest.

The End Of Cardiff. 

"It can't be?"

"Is that who I think it is?" Owen asked, now having some understanding of why his wife didn't feel the need to raise her weapon.

"Yes Owen. He's back and just when we need him," Toshiko replied, slipping her gun into the back of her waist band and heading with great speed down to the main hub floor.

He stopped mid way from where the portal had been to the workstations, looking around the hub. He smiled as he saw that most things in the hub hadn't changed, even after all this time but then again, knowing Jack, he knew it wouldn't have changed. He looked the full way around the hub, noticing Gwen, Owen, Toshiko, Ianto, Kato and Arion, no-one was missing. He eased his sword back into it's sheath, freeing up his other hand as Toshiko hurtled towards him, leaping at him, catching her.

"You came back," Toshiko tells him wrapping her arms around his neck as he held her small frame off of the floor.

"Of course I came back. I told you I would and you did summon me," he tells her, a small grin across his face.

"Time has been good to you. You look good even with the scars," Toshiko replies, tracing the scar on his face, him then gently putting her back down on firm ground.

"Reminders of hundreds of years of war and fighting. Time has been good to you too Tosh, you look good," he tells her, looking down at her ageing face but looking very good for her age, Toshiko now in her fifties.

"Is it really you?" Ianto asks him approaching carefully.

"I think you know it's me Ianto," he replies, looking slightly to the ground, memories of the past brought forward at the sight of the man he had once loved.

"It can't be? Is it really you Javain?" Jack asked, disbelief written all over his face as he gazed upon the man who looked like his son.

"Hub defences are back online and at 99% efficiency. All firewalls are again intact," Arion replied snapping out of her trace with a joint and turning around to then see this stranger that had appeared from nowhere.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked, confused at the stranger though getting this strange feeling in the pit of her stomach as though she knew him, no answer coming to her for a few seconds.

"I don't know how to tell you this Arion and I should of told you earlier but this is your brother, Javain," Jack almost mumbles, knowing that this was going to be hard for him to explain and harder for her to understand.

"What? No? I don't have a brother. What are you talking about dad?" Arion asks, tilting her head slightly as she looked between her father and the newly appeared stranger seeing that there were similarities between her father and the stranger named Javain but she just couldn't get her head around the fact that this was meant to be her brother.

"_**Why is dad saying he is my brother? Dad has never mentioned him before. Neither of them have. Who is this man Javain that they call my brother? Where has he been all my life? How does Aunty Tosh know him so well yet I don't know him at all?Who was his mother and where is she now? Why does he look like my father? Too many questions, not enough answers. My mind is burning,"** _she thought as Arion walked around Javain, her so called brother, looking him up and down, a million thoughts running around her mind but only two that shone out amongst the rest.

"How do I have a brother?" she asked as she came back to the front of Javain, giving Jack a glance that left him in no doubt that she was confused but more angry.

"It's a long story angel, we should go...." Jack started but never finished.

"Don't call me angel dad. How could you and daddy not tell me that I had a brother? Did you not think that I had a right to know and who else knew that I had a brother?" Arion screams at Jack, fire now burning in her eyes as she looked at everyone in the hub, each in turn lowering their heads in acknowledgement that they too knew, all but Kato.

"We just didn't know when the right time was to tell you sweetie," Ianto replied, trying in his way to comfort her but for some reason feeling slightly uncomfortable at the fact that Javain was there and not knowing why.

"So my whole life you have lied to me then? Marvellous! Just when things couldn't get weirder, a stranger busts into the hub, declaring that he is my brother and I find out that everyone has been lying to me this whole time. I know that Torchwood and you dad have your secrets but didn't you think I had a right to know?" Arion more barks than asks, her hands trembling at her side, her eyes blazing more, blazing white, something that the team had never seen her do and hadn't seen in a long time in anyone.

"Ok, what's going on with your eyes? They are white. That's freaky," Kato asks Arion, looking strangely at her, having never been told about Phoenix or Javain.

"Ok Arion. I know you don't know me but I need you to calm down," Javain asks her, moving slowly towards her, his hands gently lifted from his side.

"CALM DOWN! HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN AND WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME TO CALM DOWN?" Arion screams, her eyes burning, her hands shaking more violently.

"What the hell is going on? How is she doing that Javain?" Jack almost orders, forgetting who he was talking to.

"Quiet Jack. It isn't about giving you answers right now. It's about Arion," Javain reminds Jack turning to him, his eyes also burning white.

"Why are my hands burning?" Arion asks, her face filled with confusion.

She lifts her hands and sees that the ends of her fingers were slowly turning white, some kind of static energy or electrical energy licking from them like a serpents tongue. Her eyes now totally white and dead, her burnt red hair ruffled as a sudden gust of air sweeps through the hub, collecting around her body. She turns to Jack and Ianto, their faces giving away that something was happening to her and then looking to Javain.

"It's all going to be ok Arion, I just need you to calm down," Javain tells her, his hands now raised from his side and almost stretched out now.

"What's going on? I don't understand?" distress now replacing the anger in Arion's voice, her fingers now totally white.

"Oh my god. It's Phoenix all over again," Owen says as the rest of the team duck for cover.

"ARION, CALM DOWN!" Jack shouts not understanding that that wasn't what she needed right now.

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN. YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME I HAD A BROTHER WHEN I WAS OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND. IT'S NOT AS THOUGH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STRANGE WITH ALL THE THINGS I HAVE SEEN WITH TORCHWOOD WHILE I WAS GROWING UP," the pitch and tone changing in her voice.

Her eyes now pure white, her hands now fully ablaze and energy streaming from her fingers like little streaks of lightning. Her red hair now swirling around like flames of a fire dancing in the wind that was swirling around her like a tornado, Arion fighting to keep her feet on the ground. Arion looked confused at what was happening to her, never having happened to her before. Javain steps forward, his hands outstretched, his eyes brighter than hers but only just. As he stepped closer, the wind seemed to surround them both, both now seemingly trapped in the tornado.

"Don't worry Jack, I can contain her," Javain tries to reassure Jack, his voice much deeper than usual.

Javain steps right up to Arion, not afraid of her, of what was happening to her. He knew what was happening, it had happened to him when he was a kid but he had had his mother around to guide him, to help him through it. Arion hadn't had anyone to guide her but now, now she had her brother, now she had Javain. He put his arms almost around her and all of a sudden, it was like the wind stopped, stopped blowing through the hub, stopped it's effort in trying to savage the interior of the hub, then you looked at Javain and Arion.

Javain had cast a protective forcefield around them both, the wind inside the forcefield now almost gail force winds, tearing at both their clothes, making Arion's hair dance the wildest dance, an almost hypnotic dance.

"It's burning, burning in my head, burning in my hands, burning my eyes, burning all over my body. It hurts, it hurts so much. Make it stop, please make it stop," Arion pleaded to anyone that would listen, pleading to her fathers, pleading to her family and last of all, pleading to the stranger that had just walked into her life.

"I can make it stop. I can make the pain stop. I can take the pain away. All I need you to do is listen to my voice. Focus on my voice and only my voice," Javain told her, his voice calm, gentle and reassuring.

"I can't. It burns so much. My mind, it hurts and burns so much," Arion replies, tears streaming down her face, following the same route that the previous tear had fallen.

"Yes you can Arion. Just focus, focus on my voice, a voice that sounds familiar to you. Close your eyes and focus," Javain tells her, moving those final steps to her.

Now they were face to face, now so close he could feel her warm, rapid breaths on his face, he could feel the energy just streaming out of Arion uncontrollably. He placed his hands on her shoulders, immediately feeling what she felt, feeling how lost she was, how utterly terrified she felt. He could feel every emotion, the rage at the fact that Javain had been hidden from her for all these years but also her love for both of her fathers. The love she felt for her family, a strange family but her family none the less. The sadness of being denied her brother all this time.

"That's it Arion, your doing fine. Calm your breathing down, concentrate on my voice, relax as you here my voice," Javain tells her, tilting his head back.

Arion's glow began to slightly fade but at the same time, Javain's grew brighter. Javain closed his eyes, focusing now totally on Arion and absorbing energy from her before it totally burnt out her mind and body.

"So much power, so much raw, untamed, uncontrolled power and no idea how to use it, how to harness it, how to control it," Javain whispers continuing to drain the energy from Arion.

The wind seemed to become less wild, barely tussling Arion's hair now, her hands slowly returning to their normal colour, the expression on her face calmer, relaxed, almost at peace, her still closed eyes losing the blaze that had burnt in them. The from nowhere, she dropped, her legs giving way from under her. In a split second, Javain dropped the forcefield that had been protecting the hub and the team from them and caught Arion, slowly pulling her up into his arms and holding her as though he was cradling a small baby, ever so gently in his strong arms.

"I've got you Angel. It's going to be ok Arion, I'm here now," Javain tells her as he looks down at his little sister cradled in his arms, walking her to the emergency quarters, uncaring of what anyone else thought, wanted or said, his focus on her and her alone, protecting her.


	3. Chapter 3

The sections in Itallic are Arion's personal thoughts. Sections make reference to pre year 2000 Torchwood before Jack was the boss and references to "A Beautiful Stranger."

The End Of Cardiff. 

Dreams or Reality?

"_**Ok. I have no idea where I am but this all seems a little familiar. There is the water tower of the hub but all these...all these buildings...I have never seen them before. Where is Atkinson's, the store I buy my threads? This isn't right! Something is wrong but what? It doesn't smell familiar either or sound familiar but...the water tower."**_

Arion walked through the unfamiliar streets, dodging vehicles the like she had never seen before, dodging people that didn't seem to see her as they carried on to their destinations. Sometimes the people looked like blurs, almost moving too fast for Arion to be able to see them. She gazed up at buildings, buildings she thought she should know but just didn't. In very little time, Arion had made it to the water tower. She smiled as she gazed up the tall metal structure signifying that she was home, the water ever running down the tower, down into the heart of the hub.

"_**Looks cleaner and brighter than usual."**_

She made her way to the usual entrance that she used and tried to find her swipe card but no matter which pocket so looked in, she couldn't find it. She tried to enter her code into the code reader but every time she did, it read, "Access Denied". She walked around to the garage entrance as she knew how to force the door, remembering from her teen aged years when she was late home and had to sneak in though it never worked.

Just as she reached the garage door, the shutter doors raised, the headlights of the black SUV appearing like large eyes out of the darkness. Arion almost jumped as the SUV moved forward, the front wheels appearing and slowly the rest of the body appearing out of the garage like a big cat out of the undergrowth. Arion watched the SUV, noticing that there was something wrong with the occupants of the car. Jack was there but there were also two other males that she didn't know and an unknown female too.

"_**Where is dad, Gwen, Toshiko, Owen and Kato? Who are these people? Why are they in the SUV? What is going on?" **_

The SUV pulled out of the Torchwood garage, the shutter doors closing fast and as the shutters hit the floor, the SUV roared away. Arion couldn't understand why her father would leave her there so she began to run after the SUV.

"DAD! DAD! STOP PLEASE!" she shouted as she ran after the SUV but it pulling away too fast.

Arion was left stood in the middle of a crowd of people, the people moving faster and faster, Arion unable to move, unable to escape the crowd, feeling dizzier and dizzier, the people becoming more and more blurry until...darkness.

* * *

Javain left the room and walked back towards the main hub area, knowing that a million and one questions were going to be asked of him but knowing what he was there to do. The most important person was Arion and he was furious with Jack and Ianto that they hadn't told her how she came about, what she could be capable of, prepared her, trained her but more that they hadn't even told her he existed.

"When he comes back in, don't bombard him with loads of questions Jack," Toshiko almost pleaded, knowing that Jack hated being out of the loop and up until this point, he wasn't anywhere near the loop.

"He isn't the only one I have questions for Tosh. I have quite a few for you like, why didn't you tell me that you were in contact with Javain, that you could summon him so to speak? Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" Jack asked, a strange mix of annoyance, anger and joy in his voice and just as Toshiko was about to answer, the reply was given.

"Because it was a strictly need to now kinda thing and you didn't need to know," Javain replied standing at the back entrance with his back against the wall.

"The last time I checked, I was still the boss of Torchwood so I very much needed to know," Jack replied annoyed at the fact that he was being told by his own son that he didn't need to know.

"Something you still keep reminding us of, even after this long," Owen blabbed, not really meaning to say out loud and feeling Jack's stare burning a hole in him.

"Yes, I do keep reminding you after all this time and looks like I will have to carry on as it seems as though some people still don't get it even after more than 30 years," Jack replied, his stare switching from Owen to Tosh.

"Same old Jack Harkness, see some things just don't change," Javain laughed holding his hand out in Toshiko's direction, her knowing that he was requesting back the small metal, egg shaped object that had emitted the distress call, Toshiko placing it in his hand.

* * *

"_**This isn't right either. Where am I now? Where is everyone and why is the place flooded with army and U.N.I.T personnel? I don't understand. Where are the people that were here a moment ago?"**_

Arion opened her eyes to find that she was in the same place as before but everything had changed. All around her was Army and U.N.I.T personnel, identified by the red berets and she had worked with them before. There wasn't a single civilian in sight, not one. Everyone walked around her, going about their business, preparing but for what. Not one of them battered an eyelid that this strange girl had just appeared from nowhere.

"Hello. Hi. Will someone please tell me what's going on. Where is everyone going and where are all the civilians?" Arion almost shouted but no-one flinched, no-one turned to look at her.

"ANYONE!" she shouted, frustrated that no-one would answer her.

She heard a commotion behind her so she turned around to find a Bedford truck being loaded with Army soldiers and officers boarding a Land Rover. Arion headed for the Land Rover, thinking she could use her Torchwood clearance to find out from the officers what was going on but as she got close, the Land Rover and Bedford truck started to pull away. Arion broke out of her walk and into a run, leaping at the last second, barely reaching the tail gate of the Land Rover and holding on, pulling herself on as it picked up speed, pulling out of the makeshift Army barracks.

The journey was short and as Arion clung onto the tailgate of the officers Land Rover, she watched a more familiar landscape pass her but still, there was too many things wrong. There were still no civilians and the further into her journey she got, the more it looked as though she was entering a war zone. After a few minutes which had felt so much longer, the Land Rover pulled to a stop, Arion getting off of the back, coming round the vehicle to see something she hadn't expected to see in her wildest dreams.

The Bedford truck that had left just before the Land Rover she had hitched a ride on, was emptying it's soldiers but in the background, there seemed to be a whole war being fought. There were U.N.I.T forces and Army forces fighting something she didn't recognise. Past the Bedford, Arion spotted something that she was familiar with, the huge, sleek, black SUV of Torchwood, it's insignia embellished on the side. She made her way to the only thing she felt safe with, something from Torchwood, something that reminded her of home in this strange place.

When she reached to SUV, she searched the inside of the vehicle through the windows, searching for any sign or clue as to where the team was but found none. She even tried the handles but all were locked. She had to find them, she had to find the team so she made her way to where all the action was. As she drew closer to the fighting, she saw that the enemy that the U.N.I.T and Army soldiers were fighting, looked human.

"_**Why are they fighting humans? Why are they fighting each other? This doesn't make sence."**_

She walked through the battle, no-one batting an eyelid at her being there, no-one attacking her. She could feel the anger, the fear, the emptyness. She walked a little way and then she saw it. A dark mass in the sky, so large that it was almost taking over the sky but then there was something else but only just visible. The U.N.I.T and Army troops began to put their weapons down, the emeny seemingly dying without being touched. Everyone's focus was being drown to the skies and Arion found herself also looking at the sky and watching the drama unfolding but still unconsciously walking closer and closer. Arion looked closer at the light in the sky that had now almost gone, just barely seeing the outline of a human, a woman.

"_**Who is that? What is that? She can't possibly be human. Human's don't float in the air and they sure as hell don't look like a small star burning up in the atmoshohere and what on earth is that dark cloud in the sky? It looks like it is eating her up, swomping her."**_

Arion stepped back as she heard the worst sound that she had ever heard in her life and she had heard some really horrifying sounds before. It was the sound of a gut wrenching screaming, blasting through the air, almost magnified by the vast space. Then from nowhere, Arion was taken off of her feet as a blast filled the sky and shock the ground, a flash of light filling the skies, looking as though it were on fire with a burning white light, blinding Arion and everyone around. Arion heard alarms going off in the background, car alarms, house alarms ringing in her ears as she held her eyes tightly shut until the light had gone.

"NO!" she heard a familiar voice screamed, Arion's focus drawn to a group of people getting to their feet, one of them seperating themselves from the others and running to where there used to be a huge dark mass in the sky and the bright form of a woman, both no longer in the skies, both being replaced by blue skies. Arion rose to her feet and watched as a familiar figure ground to a halt and dropped to his knees, another male figure racing to his side and holding him.

"_**Dad? Daddy?"**_ Arion thought as the people around her started to move faster, that new but familiar sensation returning to her of light headedness and then...darkness.

* * *

"How did you know that Javain was here Toshiko?" Jack asked, his expression stuck between annoyed and disappointment at the fact that Tosh had kept something from him, something like this.

"Now don't even think about putting this on Tosh Jack. This was something between myself and Tosh. I knew I couldn't trust you with this," Javain tells Jack, smiling at Tosh as he passed her and moved towards the 3D glass screen.

"What do you mean you couldn't trust me with this?" Jack replied, more than mildly offended at his son's comment.

"So if I handed you a way and means of contacting me and bringing me back to earth for a certain reason, you wouldn't abuse that and bringing me down here for your own selfish needs?" Javain asked, knowing that that is exactly what Jack would do, sliding his hands across the screen bringing up all kinds of data.

"I forgot how much he is like Jack," Owen commented, making his way to the autopsy room which was still very much his domain.

"Yes...I mean no...I mean," Jack almost stuttered, the first time someone had called him on something in a long time.

"And there is my answer. Tosh, I take it that you are up to sign 4 of 6?" Javain asked, directing his question to Tosh but not his focus, that still being on the data infront of him.

"I put out the distress call as soon as I had identified the third sign," Toshiko replied, making her way to Javain so she could show him the third sign.

"Hello! Isn't anyone going to ask about Arion and what the hell just happened to her?" Ianto barked, annoyed that Arion had been over looked because Javain had returned.

"Sorry Ianto. I will explain everything but at the moment, she is fine. She's sleeping. It was a drain on her mind and her body and she needs to get her strength back," Javain tried to reassure Ianto as he and Tosh now worked together.

* * *

Arion suddenly felt very cold, a wind was blowing over her body, goose bumps forming on her flesh. She opened her eyes to see darkness, no sun in the sky, night had fallen. As she began to get up, she felt rubble under her hands, dry, hard. She looked down at her hands to see dried, dark earth, scorched and grey, almost like charcoal. The wind blow a little harder, the ends of her long red hair dancing in the wind. Arion looked ahead as she slowly rose to her feet, the sight in front of her almost knocking her back down again.

What she saw she couldn't quite believe. What she saw was once a city but now was nothing but ruins. There were no buildings, just barely visible skeleton's that were once buildings. Arion could scarsely recognise where she was. There were no sign of life and there hadn't seemed to be in a while. Arion began to walk, travelling over building rubble, rusty burnt parts from destroyed cars, scorch personal possesions and every now and again, human bones. Every time she saw what she thought was a human bone, a shiver travelled down her spine. Arion continued to walk for a while, things looking more and more gruesome the further she walked, more human bones, skulls visible as she walked.

More and more destroyed buildings, vehicles, reminants of peoples lives making a path in front of her feet. In the distance, there was a faint glimmer, something shinning in the distance but large enough to be seen. Arion made her way towards the glimmer, hoping that there was some small sign of life, something to show that she was not the only person there. It took her some time, the wind becoming stronger, getting no shelter from the detroyed the buildings around her. Arion suddenly ground to a halt as the ground before her seemed to just vanish into a giant crater, several miles down and several miles wide.

Arion slowly walked around the edge of the crater, gravel crumbling down from the egde as she walked, disappearing into the crater. She had walked for about 20 minutes when all of a sudden, the ground beneath her left foot gave way and tumbled into the crater, almost taking Arion with it but not quite managing it as she sunk to her knees digging into the gravel, stopping herself from falling in. As she rose to her feet again, she heard the sound of something hitting something metallic and then a small glimmer of light shinning on her vest.

Arion followed the glimmer of light from her vest into the crater, almost losing sight of it and then... then she saw it. There was only a small section of it left, most of it scorched and black but just a little of it's former self. Arion had to look twice before she realised what it was but when she did, her mind and body filled with horror. It was the remains of the water tower that once marked where the Torchwood hub once stood.

"No! No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed.

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" echoed through hub, reaching every corner from it's very depths almost to street level, sending a chill down the spines of all the team, sending the Wevels in the cells into a cower, whinning in the corner.

"Arion!" Javain exclaim, turning to the rear entrance of the main hub area, sprinting off, the rest of the team following close behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

The End of Cardiff.

Harsh Reality.

She sat up in bed, the light around her stinging her eyes, her mind dazed and confused. The feeling of the bed underneath her giving her some reassurance, some comfort. She looked around the room trying to get her bearings but the thoughts in her head were too over bearing. The thoughts and the feelings still fresh in her head and her heart, the pain, the confusion, the feeling of being so lost, nothing felt right any more. She turned and slid her legs off of the side of the bed, her feet finding the hard concrete floor underneath them but almost feeling as though the floor wasn't there. Her head was spinning, the pain, the thunder like pain pounding through her mind, pictures, sounds, thoughts, and the dizziness. She rested her head in her hands, trying to steady her thoughts, try to numb the pain, her eyes closed.

* * *

Javain burst through the door of the emergency quarters, the door rebounding off of the wall leaving a nice dent in the pre-fab wall of the quarters, dust drifting down from the rather large, deep dent. The site before him took him by surprise even though he had seen it many times before, not just from himself but from his mother. Before him was a young but drained woman sat on the edge of a bed in a usually grey, dark room that was now filled with light. The light was emanating from the young woman, his sister, his blood. Her hands were a blaze, white fire surrounding her fingers, the palms of her hands, all the way to her wrists. Javain couldn't see her face but he knew what he would see if he could, the coldest, whitest eyes.

"Help me, please someone just help me. These thoughts, these images and feelings, I don't want to feel them, see them or think them. I can't bare the pain. Please help me, take them away," Arion cried, her voice so quiet, hardly audible but Javain didn't need to hear her, he could feel her with every part of himself.

"I can take your pain away but I can't take the images, the thoughts or the feelings away. Those are yours now Arion and you need them, oh how you need them. You need to get ready for what is coming," Javain explained to her, crouching in front of her and placing his hands on hers.

"Please take the pain away Javain, it hurts so much," she pleads, tears running from her white eyes down her face, her head now lifted and her cold, white eyes starring into Javain's.

Just as Jack and Ianto reached the door of the room, Javain placed his hands on Arion's shoulders, tilting his head forward. After only seconds, Jack and Ianto could see something happening, the bright white light was fading from her hands, from her eyes. With every passing second, she was becoming more human, more like Arion and not the other part of her, the goddess part. After Arion returned to normal, Javain took one of his hands off of her shoulder and gently brushed the tears from her face.

"That should feel better," he told her smiling gently, Arion returning the smile.

Javain slowly stood up, his hand slightly trembling, clenching his fist at the sight of his hand. His stomach started to twist into knots, stepping back to allow space for Ianto and Jack to look after their daughter and comfort her. He backed slowly out of the door, not looking behind him as he had no need to. He could hear and feel someone approaching behind him, he knew it was Owen from the smell of his aftershave, expensive. A gentle breath expelled from his slightly parted lips, a light grey almost mist drifting from his lips, his eyes becoming tightly clenched, both hands now in tight fists, his knuckles glowing white. He felt a hand on his shoulder and knew instantly it was Owen's.

"You ok Javain? You look as though you've seen a ghost," Owen commented, always in his role as a Doctor.

"I'll be ok Owen, no need to worry," he barely explained, his breath shallow, laboured.

He backed away from the room, away from all the people, down the corridor and into the darkness. He knew the Hub, every dark corner, every rusting pipe, every little pot hole in the ground. He could find his way blind, he knew where he was going.

* * *

"How are you feeling sweetheart? Are you feeling any better?" Ianto asked her full of fatherly love and care, he on one side, Jack on the other and Owen in front, checking her over with the scanner.

"I feel strange, better but not the same. What the hell is going on around here Dad? This Javain shows up, tells me he is my brother and then all hell breaks loose. What is going on?" Arion asks, knowing something is going on but not sure as to what.

"We will tell you every thing, we just want to make sure your ok. You're what is important to us," Jack almost whispers, gently moving her hair out of her face.

"Where is Javain?" she asks, looking around the room trying to find him.

* * *

The pain was getting worse, he hadn't felt like this in a long time, it was making him sick. He needed to get rid of it fast, he wouldn't be able to control it much longer as his body had already started to shake. He had managed to navigate his way to the firing range, seemed to be the most protected place for him to do what he needed to do. Javain knew the room well, almost too well. He opened his eyes, they felt as though they were burning, he could barely see out of them. The firing range hadn't changed that much, not in all these years, it was like he was taking a step back through time. The same targets hung up for target practice, Weevil's as always. Nothing had changed which eased his bad feeling if only for a second. The mind numbing feeling of pain soon return with a vengeance and Javain knew he was close.


End file.
